DOHA: Al Markhiya recorded a valuable 1-0 victory over Lusail, with a goal scored by newcomer Mamadou Lamine in the 38th minute of the match that was played at Saoud bin Abdul Rahman Stadium, in the seventh round of the Second Division League. After all of the other three games ended in draws, Al Markhiya was the only winner in this round. Al-Kharaitiyat tied with Al Shahaniya 2-2, while Mesaimeer drew 3-3 with Muaither, and Al-Waab shared the spoils with Al-Bidda after a 2-2 draw. With these results, Al Markhiya became the biggest beneficiary of this round, both from the victory they achieved and also from the failure of their rivals Al-Kharitiyat and Al-Shahaniya. Al Markhiya thus managed to close the gap and rise to third place after increasing their tally to 15 points, continuing to chase Al-Shahaniya and Al-Kharaitiyat at the top. Only one point currently separates Al Markhiya from Al Shahaniya, while there is a four-point gap between them and leaders Al Kharaitiyat. The competition between the trio will definitely get stronger and more exciting as we head further towards the end. In the second match of the same round, Al-Waab drew 2-2 with Al-Bidaa. Muhammad Abdul Rahman (4') and Mahmoud Al-Sayed Ghazi (58) scored for Al-Waab, while Al-Bidaa's goals came from Adel Ahmed (19') and Muhammad Konate (65'). Al-Kharaitiyat and Al-Shahaniya took home a point apiece after another 2-2 draw. Al-Kharaitiyat remain at the top of the league table with a tally of 19 points, while Al-Shahaniya have 16 points in second place. Muaither's 3-3 draw with Mesaimeer at Al-Sailiya stadium, meant they got just their second point of the season, while Mesaimeer increased their tally to 8. With these results, Al-Kharaitiyat lead the standings with 19 points, with Al-Shahaniya in second place with 16, Al Markhiya in third with 15, and Lusail in the fourth position with 12 points. Meanwhile, Mesaimeer is in fifth place with 8 points, compared to 4 for sixth-placed Al Waab. Al-Bidda is in seventh place with three points, and Muaither is in the eighth and last position with two points. As for the top scorers' race, Al-Kharitiyat's Rachid Tiberkanine leads the list alongside Al-Shahaniya's Diego De Brito, with six goals apiece. In second, Jugurtha Hamroun of Al-Markhiya and Mohamat Abdulrahman Hani of Al-Waab scored four goals each. Meanwhile, four players share third place with three goals each: Abdulrahman Musaad (Lusail), Ahmed Salem (Al Waab), Abdulfadil Swanon (Al-Kharaitiyat) and Adel Ahmed (Al-Bidda).